Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,723 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,689 shares during the period. Group 1 Automotive accounts for about 1.6% of Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP owned approximately 0.32% of Group 1 Automotive worth $13,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $30,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 54.6% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI stock traded down $1.11 on Friday, reaching $269.46. 134,876 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,173. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.25 and a 1 year high of $310.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $272.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.41%.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.